Ash disposal apparatus



2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Deo 5 U R u@ Nm wm, mm, f mm /////v-^/////// //vx/////////// w M. m rx w Q0 m NN QN N RM\ .E MI \W nu mw l m BY dad ATTORNEYA Feb. 18, 1936. H. M. waLGUS ASH DISPOSAL APPARATUS Filed Dec. 27, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HAROLD M. WILGUS Patented Feb. 18, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ASH DISPOSAL APPARATUS Application December 27, 1933, Serial No. 704,125

Claims.

This invention relates to the disposal of ashes and other materials of like nature, a-nd more especially it relates to an improved process and apparatus for removing such materials from sto-rage chambers and containers Where certain quantities thereof have been permitted toaccumulate.

The invention herein described is a continuation in part of and improvement on` that originally described in my application Serial No. 478,535, led August 28th, 1930.

The disposal of ashes and similar materials produced in furnaces, gas-generating equipment and similar installations burning solid fuel constitutes a very serious problem, particularly in large plants where the amount of ashes produced may reach many tons in the course of twenty-four hours.

The ashes are usually allowed to accumulate in a hopper disposed beneath each furnace grate, and this accumulated refuse resulting from a number of hours operation is then removed as rapidly as possible by some suitable conveyor system, frequently operated hydraulically.

In certain types of conveying apparatus the conveyor consists of a trough partially lled with running water into which the contents of the hopper or hoppers are discharged so as to be rapidly carried by the running Water to a place of disposal.

In certain other types of apparatus, a closed conduit is used for the running water, thus affording the possibility of building up pressure so as to discharge the material through the conduit even when the latter is not downwardly inclined from the point at which ashes are delivered thereto.

The normal action of the running water is generally supplemented by that of additional fluid means located within the hopper, such as for instance jets of water set in proximity to the bottom of the hopper, the said bottom being inclined downwardly toward an outlet leading to the conveyor conduit underneath, and the jets being directed toward the said outlet.

It has been found in practice however that these jets have a tendency at times to remove only those portions of material directly in their path, and to form straight passages through the body of ashes contained within the container, and leading directly to the outlet, so as to leave untouched such portions of the ashes as are contained in the spaces between the jets. Although the islands thus formed may be eventually eroded by the action of the running water, so as to effect the discharge of the entire body of the ashes, this-occurs at a relatively slow rate,.and

there are periods during which the Water from the jets flows freely away through the bottom outlet without carrying therewith material amounts of ashes.

It is of course Yhighly desirable that the discharge of ashes occurs in as short a time as possible, since during such periods of discharge the normal operation of furnaces either must be discontinued or it is at least materially hampered. In certain instances, as in the case of gas-generating plants, a rapid rate of ash discharge is imperative since the various cycles of operation of such plants must occur in continuous succesH sion according to a predetermined schedule. In View of these conditions it becomes highly desirable to greatly improve the effectiveness of the fluid jets in accomplishing the discharge of the ashes from the container.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide for discharging ashes and like materials from chambers or other p-laces of accumulation and storage under conditions whereby a materially higher rate of ash discharge is accomplished by means of water jets of any certain flow capacity than it has heretofore been possible to: obtain, using a. like amount of water at the same pressure introduced through the same number of jets.

Another object is to provide in an improved manner for removing ashes and the like from a body thereof contained in a chamber or container having a bottom outlet, whereby a disrupting action is effective throughout the entire section of the body of ashes in proximity to the bottom surface, with a resultant continuous, uniform and rapid descent of the entire body o-f ashes within the hopper and its discharge therefrom.

A further object is to provide a novel chamber or container having a sectional construction fa.-

cilitating the assembly, inspection, removal, and repair thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear as the description proceeds, and as set forth in the appended claims.

In its broadest scope the invention relates to -the removal, from chambers or containers havor more circumferences concentric with the bottom outlet, by virtue of which arrangement the streams flowing from the various jets reinforce each other and from a whirlpool at the bottom of the chamber by which the ashes or the like are given a whirling or spiral motion towards and through the discharge outlet at a substantially uniform rate, thus making efficient useV of the volume of water employed and substantially preventing the occurrence of obstructions at points within the chamber and in the fluid conveyor system immediately therebeneath.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig; 1 is a vertical section through the lower portion of a watergas generator and associated ash pit, and illustrates one form of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through a chamber provided with iiuid discharge means embodying a modication of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken along the lines 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively a plan view and a transverse sectional view of a novel spray nozzle assembly; and

Fig. '7 is a somewhat diagrammatic showing of an assembly of a plurality of ash removal units and a fluid conveyor system embodying the invention.

Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate the lower portion of a gas generator I having refractory-lined walls II and a mechanical grate I2 of any standard design, through the latter of which ashes and unburned fuel are discharged continuously into a receiving chamber I4 normally out of free communication with the atmosphere. The inner surface of the chamber I4 may if desired be lined with refractory material, or it may be unlined, so as to provide an ash receiving chamber having its lowermost portion I preferably of somewhat larger diameter than that of the high temperature zone of the generator located above the grate. The usual clinker door I6 having a removable door is provided in the generator wail above the grate; and a door I1 is preferably provided for permitting access to the ash receiving chamber I4 and for use in cleaning and making repairs to it. The usual valved steam and air conduits are connected with a duct I8 which surrounds the upper part of the chamber I4 within the walls of the generator and is provided with a plurality of outlets I9 for discharging air or steam or both into the chamber I4 immediately below the grate I2. An annular metal bracket 2l! is secured to the inner surface of the chamber I4 at a vertical mid-portion thereof, the said bracket having a grooved inwardly and downwardly extending lip or flange 22, adapted to cooperate with a grooved upper margin of a sectional inverted frusto-conical plate assembly 24 forming the sloping bottom of the chamber I4. The plate assembly 24 consists of a plurality of curved sectional members 25 adapted to be secured together at their adjacent margins 26, as by bolts or the like. The plate assembly 24 has an open lower end, the margins of each plate 25 adjacent the said open end being grooved to cooperate with the grooved upper margin of a central discharge outlet member 28 having a flared upper portion, the lower end of the member 28 being adapted to rest upon the upper flanged surface of a T-casting 3i) forming part of a closed conveyor conduit 88 through which ows water under pressure -at high velocity, the latter being introduced therein through a pipe 84 and nozzles 86. An annular inverted bowl-shaped splash plate 34 which may preferably be integral with the bracket 20, is secured to the generator shell I0 adjacent the vertical mid-portion of the chamber I4, the plate 34 serving to prevent any water, used for moving the ashes, from splashing upward into the air ducts I9 or into the grate i2, during the period of ash removal. The space 29 between the bottom member 24, outlet member 28, and the base of the generator is lled in with cement, concrete, cr the like.

For introducing a fluid such as water into the ash-receiving chamber I4 in accordance with the present invention, a manifold or header surrounds the said chamber. This manifold 49 is provided at certain spaced points, preferably uniformly distributed therealong, with branched conduits 4I, each of the latter comprising a flexible hose 42 connecting vertical pipes 43 and lateral pipes 44. The free ends of the said pipes 44 extend to points adjacent respective apertures in the wall of chamber i4 and in the splash plate 34.

A flat plate is secured by means of welding or the like to the walls of the chamber I4 at each of the respective apertures therein. Each of the plates 5B has an offset or shouldered portion 52 adapted to extend into and engage with the margins of the chamber wall about one of the apertures therein so that the outer margin of the shouldered portion of each plate 56 is approximately ush with the inner surface of the chamber I4. Each plate 50 has a central aperture provided with a sloping shoulder portion 54, and a 'P For permitting adjustment of each spherical nozzle member 58 in a plurality of planes wlLile holding the sam-e securely in place against the plate 5I), there is provided a plurality of adjustable locking plates 70, each having one face thereof adapted to engage the adjacent face of l one of the plates 50. Each locking plate 'I8 is provided also with a central elongated slot l2 surrounded by a projecting shoulder i4, through which shouldered slot the end of the branch conduit connected with the corresponding nozzle .i

member 58 is adapted to extend. A plurality of curved marginal slots 'I5 in each locking plate IG are adapted to accommodate stud bolts I8 which extend into the plate 50, for permitting adjustment of the nozzle member 58 and for locking it securely in place against the corresponding marginal portions of the plate 55.

It will be clear that the above described construction facilitates the proper setting of each of a plurality of nozzles to discharge therefrom a jet of fluid into the chamber I4 in the desired direction in any plane and thereafter the locking of the nozzle in the selected position while assuring a Huid-tight seal between the chamber I4 and the outer atmosphere. The nozzles 58 are thus inset in the walls of the ash chamber or pit in a manner to prevent interference therewith of the streams of water and ashes carried by the fluid stream swirling on the floor cr" the ash pit.

The nozzles are directed tangentially to one or more circumferences concentric with the discharge outlet member 28; and preferably each of the adjacent nozzles has its direction of discharge so fixed that the water discharged therefrom re-aches a point of tangency with a selected circumference before entering the line of discharge of the next adjacent nozzle in the direction of flow of the fluid being discharged. By virtue of this arrangement the various jets acting independently and as a unit, form a whirlpool at the bottom of the chamber or pit, thus causing the ashes to acquire a whirling or spiral motion which is continuously maintained in a manner to quickly move the ashes toward and through the discharge outlet 28. It is advantageous in many instances to elevate alternate nozzles or other selected nozzles, to eliminate stream interference where the streams issuing from certain nozzles are directed tangentially to such a circumference concentric with the discharge outlet that they would normally impinge upon streams issuing from other nozzles before the latter reach their points of tangency with another such circumference.

Fig. '7 shows an installation for practicing the invention in connection with a plurality of ash removing units. A main header 80 is connected to a source of uid, for example water, under high pressure. Valve controlled branch conduits 82, 82 connect the header 80 with the manifolds 4U, 40 of the respective ash receiving chambers I4, I4. Other valve controlled branch conduits 84, 84, connect the header 88 with pressure nozzles 88, 86, in the end of the respective fluid conveyor conduits 88, 88, located beneath the chambers I4, I4. Each of the conveyor conduits 88 has its other end connected with a main conveyor conduit 90, and each has a valve therein between the bottom outlet 28 in the chamber with which it communicates and the main conduit 98. Valve-controlled branch conduits 92, 84 lead from the header 80 respectively to nozzles (not shown) in the end of the main conveyor conduit 90 and to one or more booster ttings 96 which are disposed in the said conduit 88. Only one such booster fitting 98 is shown. The free end of the conduit 98 discharges into the sump 88 as shown, preferably under water.

In practicing the invention in accordance with the apparatus of Figs. l and 2, the Water gas generator I0 is operated on the usual series of standard cycles, during which ashes and small pieces of clinkers fall past the grate I2 and accumulate in the receiving chamber or pit I4 directly below the latter. The depth of this pit is variable, but in any instance the chamber should be large enough to provide space for the accumulation of ashes from a run of several hours.

When it is desired to discharge the contents of the chamber I4, the water gas generator is preferably shut down, the air and steam inlets thereto, and the gas offtakes therefrom, being closed. Water under high pressure, as for example 75 to 150 pounds per square inch, is then introduced into conveyor conduit 88 in a manner to produce a high velocity head of water which serves to pick up and convey the ashes through the conduits 88 and 80 and to a remote point of discharge such as a sump, having an outlet provided with a water seal if desired.

Water is then introduced through the conduits 82 and 40 and the nozzles 58 into the chamber I4 adjacent the sloping bottom thereof, preferably in a somewhat downward direction, at a high velocity,` under a pressure of 100 pounds pressure or `from each stream upon the bottom 24 or the ashes thereon, at or adjacent the point in its path where it is nearest the bottom outlet. This arrangement is particularly effective when the diameter of the hopper is rather large, as for example 10 or 12 feetand it readily permits the effective zone of action of the jets to be extended over the entire bottom surface of the chamber. In one such installation, in which .ashes were readily remo-ved from an ash chamber having a diameter of about 9 feet,-by means of eight spaced 1/4 nozzles discharging water under a pressure of 100 lbs. per square inch, alternate nozzles were directed to? discharge in a direction making a angle with the chamber radius through the nozzle, the other nozzles being directed to discharge water at an angle of 51 with respect to the chamber radius taken through the nozzle. Operating in this manner, 4800 lbs. of ashes were completely discharged in four minutes.

The increased slope of the bottom adjacent the central outlet member 28 materially assists the series of fluid streams issuing from the nozzles 58 in effecting a rapid and complete removal of ashes from the chamber into the conveyor conduit 88,

where it is picked up and removed by the water flowing therethrough. As shown in Fig. 2, fluid streams from nozzle members 58, 58 sweep that portion of the bottom surface of the container I4 adjacent the central discharge opening, while nozzles 58, 59 sweep the mid-portion of the bottom surface,-substantially the entire section of the body of ashes being thus simultaneously subjected to the impact of the Water. Actual tests in the operation of an ash removing equipment of the character above described havedemonstrated that it is highly efficient in operation, and that it successively removes ashes or the like very rapidly with a smaller volume of water than is required when used in other manner than that of the present invention. For example, as much as 1200 pounds of ashes per minute have been removed readily by a unit of this type, whereas the same number of nozzles, when directed toward the discharge outlet of the container, would discharge a maximum of around 600 pounds of ashes per minute, and would not completely remove the ashes from the pit.

During the operation of ash removal employing the present invention, the material issues Afrom the `bottom outlet in the form of a thin, substantially uniform watery stream, which may be safely discharged directly into the fluid conveyor below without the interposition of any 'other element such as a grate usually employed heretofore to prevent obstruction of the passage connecting the ash chamber with the fluid conveyor conduit below it, which obstruction may occur when the discharge of ashes does not take place uniformly, resulting in a considerable bulk thereof being suddenly discharged through the outlet.

By making it possible to directly discharge the material from the container into the fluid conveyor conduit, a very material advantageis obtained in practice by making possible the reduction to a minimum of the vertical distance be- Cil tween the conveyor and the gas generator or furnace thereabove, without decreasing the head room required for the container or hopper itself and the oost of the installation.

The invention is applicable to many other uses in addition to the removal of ashes from gas generating plants. It may be applied to boiler plants, as well as to stacks and the like, for the removal of soot and unburned fuel particles accumulating therein.

In instances in which the chamber containing the accumulated materials is open to the atmosphere, it is possible to use an open trough sluicing system instead of the closed conduit type of fluid conveyor previously described.

An installation of this character is illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, in which a circular receiving chamber 00, which may if desired be lined with refractory material, is provided with an annular bracket |02 `at or adjacent the bottom thereof, suitably secured to the container walls. The bracket |02 has a lower margin or lip |04 directed inwardly and downwardly as shown. The lip |04 is grooved for the purpose of mating with a correspondingly grooved portion of each of a plurality of sectional bottom plates |05, the latter being suitably secured together to form an inverted frusto-conical bottom 08 for the chamber |00, the said bottom having a central opening therein through which ashes or the like are adapted to flow into an open or closed trough I0. The latter is adapted to be partially lled with water or the like flowing therethrough under a velocity head induced by the introduction therein through a nozzle ||2 at one end of the trough of water under a relativelyv high pressure, such as a pressure of '75 pounds per square inch or more, which action may be assisted by the gravity effect obtained by a slight inclination of the conveyor trough I in the direction of flow, and by one or more booster nozzles ||4 disposed at points along the path of travel of the materials in the conveyor. The booster nozzles ||4 may be mounted in the manner shown to avoid any obstruction of the flow of material in the trough 0. Cast iron wearing plates ||6 having their upper ends secured to the bottom margins of the plate members |08 adjacent the central opening in the con-- tainer bottom connect the latter with the trough ||0 so as to prevent erosion of the concrete by the material flowing through such opening.

For preventing the materials in the container |00 from flowing continuously into the trough ||0 through the bottom outlet, a baille member or housing is disposed immediately above the said bottom outlet, being supported in such position in any suitable manner as by the supports |22. The angle of slope of the bottom |08 is preferably less than the normal angle of repose of material of the type to be accumulated in the chamber |00, whereby such materials will ow into the conveyor trough only when auxiliary means are employed for facilitating such discharge such as the force developed by the tangential high velocity fluid streams of the present invention.

For the purpose of inducing the discharge of a uid such as water close to the bottom of the chamber mi), a manifold is connected through a branch conduit 82 with a source of water under pressure. At spaced points along the manifold 40 are provided branch conduits 4| having lateral extensions 44. The free end of each of the extensions 44 is provided with a nozzle |32. Each of the latter is adapted to extend through `.bottom outlet.

one of the apertures in the vertical wall of the container |00 adjacent the sloping bottom |08 thereof, and each is welded or otherwise secured to the container walls after having its direction of discharge determined.

In the form shown in Fig. 4 nine such nozzles are provided in spaced batteries of three-each battery directing a stream of water tangentially with respect to a single circumference concentric with the outlet in the container bottom |08. The stream of water leaving each nozzle is preferably so directed that it reaches the point of tangency to its respective circumference adjacent the sloping bottom before it crosses the path of the stream eme-rging from the nozzle next adjacent it in the direction of its flow. In this manner each stream of water effectively adds impetus to the swirling stream of liquid and solid materials being moved thereby and conducts them to the The increasing slope of the bottom adjacent the said outlet further facilitates the rapid removal of the solid materials as they approach this point. If desired the nozzles of certain of the batteries thereof may be directed at a different elevation than the nozzles of the other battery or batteries, for eliminating stream interference before the respective streams reach their points of tangency to the circumferences already described.

It will be obvious that the invention is not limited to applications involving storage chambers of circular cross-section. On the contrary, storage chambers of square, rectangular or other cross-section may be employed, in which cases the construction of such chambers is modified to provide a generally inverted frusto-conical bottom constructed generally like that here described, the said chamber being provided with spaced fluid nozzles in a vertical portion of the wall structure immediately adjacent the surface l makes possible the preparation at a factory of nozzles so designed that when installed they will project through the storage chamber walls in any desired direction and. at all times will give a fluid tight connection therewith. The individual nozzles may be readily adjusted during the installation to suit the specific conditions thereof with respect to such factors as chamber diameter and depth, fluid pressure, and slope of chamber bottom.

The invention is susceptible of modification within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A chamber adapted for the accumulation of ashes and the like materials and provided with side walls and a centralbottom outlet, a plurality of nozzles adapted to introduce a fluid under pressure within the said chamber upon the bottom surface thereof, said nozzles being arranged in the same horizontal plane at spaced intervals about the chamber walls, certain nozzles being directed obliquely inward tangentially to a circumference intermediate the bottom outlet and the chamber walls and other nozzles being directed obliquely inward tangentially to a second circumference, also intermediate the bottom outlet and the chamber walls, each of the said circumferences being concentric with the bottom outlet.

2. A chamber adapted for the accumulation of ashes and like materials and having a central bottom outlet, a plurality of nozzles associated with said chamber and operable to supply thereto a fluid under pressure adjacent the bottom surface thereof, said nozzles being arranged in the same horizontal plane at spaced intervals about the periphery of said chamber, alternate nozzles being directed obliquely inward tangentially to one of two spaced circumferences intermediate the outlet and the periphery of said chamber, the nozzles tangential to one of said circumferences being directed to impinge a fluid jet upon the bottom surface of the chamber at a horizontal level different from that at which the others impinge their jets.

3. A chamber adapted for the accumulation of ashes and like materials, and having a bottom provided with an outlet and having its surface sloping toward said outlet, a plurality of nozzles mounted at spaced intervals on the peripheral walls of said chamber and in close proximity to the sloping surface of the bottom, said nozzles being mounted for adjustment in any plane, and means for locking each nozzle in predetermined position to discharge a stream of fluid at high velocity obliquely inward and spirally around and toward the said outlet.

4. In a chamber adapted for the accumulation of ashes and like materials and having a sloping bottom and a bottom outlet, a plurality of spaced nozzles mounted in the walls of the said chamber and operable to sweep a fluid at high Velocity within the latter adjacent the bottom surface thereof, each of the said nozzles comprising an apertured spherical member, a pair of adjustable bearing plates cooperating with the latter, and means for clamping together the respective plates and apertured member of each nozzle, with the apertured member directed toward the said bottom and tangentially to at least one circumference concentric with the said outlet.

5. In a chamber adapted for the accumulation of ashes and like materials and having a sloping bo-ttom provided with a bottom outlet in the midportion thereof, a plurality of spaced nozzles inset in the walls of the said chamber and operable to sweep a fluid at high velocity within the latter adjacent the surface cf the bottom, each of the said nozzles comprising an apertured member having a spherical surface portion, a pair of adjustable bearing plates cooperating with the latter, and means for clamping together the respective plates and apertured member of each nozzle with the apertured member directed inwardly and tangentially to at least one circumference con centric with the said outlet.

HAROLD M. WILGUs. 

